July 04 2024

Thursday July 04

Do You Need a Miracle?

Joshua 10:12-14

12 Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon."

13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

14 And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.

As we said a few days ago we have one of the greatest miracles ever in the course of human history recorded here in Joshua 10. But before we discuss it, let me ask you a question. Do you need a miracle? Do you need something to take place in your life that is supernatural, something that cannot be explained. If you can explain it, it probably is not a miracle.

My friend, today America needs a miracle. It is not that we need a new president, a new congress, or a new anything else. No, we desperately need a miracle! Today we are celebrating our 248th birthday of the Declaration of Independence that took place July 4th, 1776. America is a country that was founded by our forefathers upon Biblical Judeo-Christian principles. These principles made America a good nation, made up of good, God-fearing people. Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD!” 

Someone said, “America is great because America is good and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great”. We are not sure where this quote originally came from, but it is a Biblical truth. When any nation removes God and His Word from public life and exchanges a Biblical worldview for a secular humanistic world view, that country is on its way down. Sadly, it appears that this is exactly what has happened in America, and we see the consequences everyday with the corruption, violence, murder, materialism, chaos, division, hatred, confusion, all around us.

Yet with all the problems America has, and especially after visiting many other countries around the world over the years, I still would personally rather live in America than any other place else in the world. With all of its problems and all of its issues, we are still blessed to live in America. Yes, America needs a miracle if it is to survive! And this miracle we find in Joshua 10 should give us hope and encouragement to pray for such a miracle for our country!

God had already preformed one miracle by sending a hailstorm that was only killing the enemy soldiers (v. 11), but a bigger miracle was needed, and Joshua prayed for it. Joshua prayed for a miracle of extending the day so that he could finish the battle and secure a complete victory over the enemy. His men were weary, and the task was great; and if night came on, the enemy could escape. Joshua needed a special act from God to enable him to claim the victory the Lord had promised.

Joshua prayed to the LORD for the sun and moon to stand still (v. 12), and the Lord answered in a remarkable way. God, in His sovereignty and providence, pressed the Pause button on our solar system. This is the last miracle recorded in Joshua and certainly the greatest. We don’t need to try to explain away a miracle. Either we believe in a God who can do anything, or we must accept a Christian faith that's non-miraculous; and that does away with the inspiration of the Bible, the Virgin Birth, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Certainly, there's room for honest questions about the nature of the miraculous; but for the humble Christian believer, there's never room for questioning the reality of the miraculous. C.S. Lewis wrote, "The mind which asks for a non-miraculous Christianity is a mind in process of relapsing from Christianity into mere 'religion.' "

We are reminded of the many miracles performed by Jesus, and His words in Luke 11:9-10, "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” And in Matthew 17:20, “So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”  

Like Joshua we face battles and might have five kings bearing down upon us. Discouragement, deception, defeat, destruction, and death. Their goal is to chase us back into the wilderness. But if we have God and prayer, we have everything we need for a miracle! God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is still in the Bible! “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

America needs a miracle and today would be a good day to pray for one.

God bless!